I'm a folder. I also don't overpack my bag. No tissue or plastic, just secure everything well with the suitcase straps and put the heaviest stuff toward the bottom of your bag as it would roll with you. That way, clothing is less likely to shift en route.

I fold my clothes using the method where the easiest to wrinkle is on the outside folded around other clothes. I can pack for three weeks in a roll-aboard if I limit myself to one pair of shoes besides the ones I wear on the plane. I wear lots of woven cotton shirts and they don't roll well, so the overlapping, folding technique works best for me. I don't bother with plastic or tissue because most hotels have an iron that I can use for touch-ups if needed.

I fold. Start your bag with a plastic cleaner bag as a liner before putting your clothes in. I have no idea why, but my clothes always seem less wrinkled when I do.

I do some of both. Roll the stretch pants and knit shirts, fold large items like jackets or nice slacks that don't lend themselves well to rolling. If you will have access to an iron at your destination, that should help, no matter what method you will use.

I never could get the hang of rolling either. I use a FlipFold with casual clothes going in the suitcase first and any nicer clothes packed last (on top). It works pretty well. Things aren't 100% wrinkle-free but they are presentable, far better than if I had rolled or freestyle folded them. Also clothing is tidy and compact in my suitcase. The key is to lay the clothing on the board, smooth it out, then flip & fold, continuing to smooth any wrinkles as I go. (I only mention this because I just looked at some Amazon reviews w/pics or videos, people are just laying clothes on the board and folding without smoothing as they go, which means they're folding the wrinkles in.) It's a quick process once you get the hang of it.

Mine was purchased at Linens N Things (it's old, lol). Now I guess it can be purchased from her website, Container Store or HSN: Where to buy original FlipFold

I see other retailers now carry some version of it. This one from Amazon or this one from BBB looks thicker & sturdier, like mine.

Fun2, I use the method you describe if I am going to be in the same place for a while. The trip I'm soon taking has us in a different location every night.

I'm sure I'll have access to an iron, but I'm not sure I'll have time to do much touch up.

Annie, I've always heard that the reason the plastic bags help is because the clothes slip around on them rather than catching and wrinkling.

I watched an interesting YouTube video on folding vs rolling. The woman took the same shirt x3. One she rolled (although I didn't think she was very neat about it), one shirt was folded, and one shirt was folded with tissue and dry cleaner bags. Then she put the shirts into a packed suitcase and left them for 24 hours. The one with the least wrinkles was the tissue/plastic; next was the folded shirt. The one with the most wrinkles was the rolled shirt. Her conclusion was that if you had something important to do at your destination. like a meeting or a party, you were best off using tissue and plastic. Otherwise, just fold neatly.

I typically stuff underneath where the bars for the rollers are my underwear, socks. Then zip the floor of the bag. Place the bag with the handle on the right.

Then place the cleaner bag across the floor of the bag and up across the lid. Next goes long stuff like pants. I put the pants with the waistband on the left, lay it flat across the bottom and leave the legs hanging out the right side. Medium length stuff like skirts lay flat across the pants. I also lay out jackets buttoned in the middle, sleeves folded back and then fold the jacket in half at the waist band so it lays flat as possible. Then I stack folded tops --usually in 2 side by side piles on top of the skirts. In between the stacks is room for delicate stuff like spare eyeglasses, or zip lock bags with makeup or jewelry. Once all the major stuff is packed, then I fold the pants legs over the top of the stack, wrap the cleaner bag down over top of clothes and use the elastic straps in the case to snug it all down and together. Doing it this way helps prevent pants from getting creases in the knees. If the pants are placed the other way with the waistband by the top handle, they can collapse inside and get more wrinkled. Once that middle is full, I then have room around all the sides and corners to put my shoes and anything else.

I've done it this way for many many business trips and mostly came out looking neat and tidy and able to get lots into a small space.

I've been rolling for years. Maybe it's how I fold and how I roll, but i find rolling keeps things more wrinkle-free. I'm pretty careful as I roll. I can also pack more, and since we often travel peripatetically (DH would go crazy if he had to stay 4 nights someplace...like a nice spa resort sigh) rolling accommodates being a traveling closet better. I also use the nylon Eagle Creek zippered packing packets.

Moon, I do not have a flip-fold board (DD does and loves it). I use a magazine. I lay the shirt on the bed; smooth out all wrinkles; then lay the magazine at the neck of the shirt with the length of the magazine following the length of the shirt. Then I fold one side to the back, the other side to the back, smoothing sleeves as I go. Slip out the magazine, and fold the resulting rectangle in half. Then sometimes in half again depending on where it is being stored. I end up with my shirts a uniform size.

Outside, I may give your hybrid method a try!

robo, for packing light, I figure I will wear each pair of pants/bottoms twice. If I am trying to pack light, I do not take white pants/bottoms as part of the mix. Then I add a one shirt for each day and maybe one extra "just in case." Every bottom has to have at least 2 tops that will go with it. In truth, usually all my bottoms will mix with all my tops. This trip, my bottoms are jeans, 2 pair of navy pants, and one pair of khaki colored pants. Tops are white, red, aqua, navy, and 2 patterned tops.

I wear my heaviest shoes, and only carry one other pair of shoes. I take one set of silver jewelry and one set of gold jewelry. If we are going out to dinner some place special, I'll throw in a statement necklace, although those things are hard to pack! If it is a special dinner, I'll also add a nicer top.

I have a cream tissue thin cashmere pashmina that I carry on each trip. It is light weight but provides great warmth. I keep it packed in a one gallon ziplock bag in my second carry on/purse. The plastic bag is not elegant, but it keeps the shawl neatly folded and away from things that might soil it (pens, pencils, lipstick, etc.).

Bpa, HOW do you do it? Please be as detailed as you have patience for. I'm baffled.

Bbstx, I was in a similar situation before a recent trip. I swear by either rolling or bundle wrapping. I chose rolling and compression bags. Worked like a charm. One compression bag was for dresses and pants, one for short sleeve tops, one for long sleeve tops (which I never needed), and a small zipper bag for underwear.

I fold and use the packing cubes. My clothes stay fairly unwrinkled depending on what it is. I tried rolling once and ended up with wrinkles galore.

I don't stress over wrinkles. Chances are, there will be an iron wherever I stay be it hotel or rental house. I roll somethings and fold others and I take as little as possible. I don't want extra weight. Also, a pashmina is a great solution to evening or plane chills.

Bbstx, I'll try lol!

1- First, I fold tops and dresses in half lengthwise, or thirds if it's wide. Just to make it easier to handle and not be a floppy play doh snake when it's done!

2- Then I fold the item (pants as well as tops and dresses) in half across the middle.

3- I hold it at the fold and smooth it out as best I can.

4- I make a small foldover at the top and start rolling.

5- I pull the material out to the sides as it approaches the roll so that it's smooth as it goes into the roll.

It sounds so tedious but it's actually pretty fast.

They are easy to put in a packing cube.

and like cyn, there is almost always an iron! I will hang up or lay flat my nicer or woven things when I get to my destination. And I never travel with linen clothes!

Bbstx, if you are at a different destination every night, I think using packing cubes is the way to go. Whether you roll or fold within the cubes is up to you, but being able to access your items easily without unpacking your whole suitcase will make your travel less stressful.

I pack like the pic robo posted (with the exception of jackets, some dresses, socks, underwear, etc.). This works out great for me; I take shirts and such out of the drawers (which are folded and stored like they are in the suitcase) and then line them up in the suitcase. Not only do things stay in good shape, but they are more easily visible and accessible when packed this way (vs. stacking folded items on top of each other). I can grab what I want to wear right from my suitcase, without having to dig through everything to get to what I need. Any unworn items (I tend to overpack) remain folded, and can be put away when we return home without needing to refold or anything. Jeans, slacks, shorts, can be folded a few times to be packed similarly, or can be laid out flat in or folded once in half, across the top of the other items.

I use Heathrow Airport's YouTube video: How to pack like a Pro. Roll then bundle then fold. Have used this method for a few years and it's surprising how much one can pack.

I meant to add that I used dry cleaning bags for suits (jackets and pants/skirts) when I was doing a lot of business travel. I would first put the jacket on the bed. Then I would lay the pants or skirt on top of the jacket (waist approx at the underarm) and fold the sleeves over the pants in a diagonal and smooth. Then slip the whole thing carefully into the cleaning bag and fold, starting with the bottom of the pants up, then fold the jacket in half. You would only fold the pants twice at the most; skirts in half. I put the bag on top of everything else in the bag and fastened the straps over all. This works great for just a few nights when you only have 1-2 suits. Other pants can be folded and put in a separate bag.

Here's the Heathrow video:

Annie, thank you for posting the video.

I'm another who has been rolling for years. I also roll outfits together~tee shirt/stretch pants, jeans/top, pj top/bottom. I like to put outfits together while packing since this takes care of my decision making while on the trip~I do deviate at times. I also put all my underwear in it's own bag since it sometimes gets scattered around in the suitcase. Dresses/dress pants/blouses get wrapped in tissue paper and folded in half and put on top. Any wrinkles can usually be deminished with the hotel hairdryer(high heat), not hung in the shower.

i roll and use packing cubes. love the cubes!!!

Be sure to look at the iron and make sure it's clean. Over time synthetics like poly blends build up on the iron and can transfer to light cottons on the hotter settings. Also sometimes there can be discoloration and staining from the steam holes. I like the packing cubes as well.

I roll, but I remember years ago it was recommended to stack everything as flat as possible....i.e. lay your shirt in the case, spread it out as much as possible only folding what goes up the sides, then add the next piece.

I put my toiletries/makeup kit at the bottom where the wheels are and position it so it is in the upright position when I'm rolling the case. Also, pajamas on top so I don't have to forage through everything else to get to them at the end of the day.

Everyone seems to like the cubes but they seem counterintuitive to me...like they would take more space than rolling.

I did the bundle wrapping that pegasus and Annie suggested on a trip last year. It works best for a one destination trip. Otherwise you have to unwrap the entire bundle to get at what you want. Re: cubes, they do take up space, whereas compression bags are lighter and clear on all sides.

Thanks all for the great tips and advice. As I said in the original post, my life is a bit chaotic right now. I have been packing bit by bit in the evenings. I'm getting close to being completely packed. Turns out, I have used a combination of rolling (undies and jammies), folding (tops), and bundling (pants, which may get unbundled at the first stop for exactly the reasons Bonnie_ann stated). I think I'm going to have room to toss in an extra jacket!!